from Hacker News

A warning about cliff vesting

by kevinholesh on 7/27/12, 8:54 PM with 4 comments

• by therealarmen on 7/27/12, 10:58 PM

  Keep in mind that this is written from the point of view of the employee and not the founder(s).

  The reality is that it takes longer than a 30-minute interview to determine whether or not someone deserves a chunk of the company that you have devoted your life towards. If a potential hire demanded that I "avoid cliff vesting" (as suggested in this article), I would feel very uncomfortable.

  That being said, I think a one-year cliff is excessive. I've found a three- or six-month cliff to be mutually agreeable for both parties.

• by ChuckMcM on 7/27/12, 10:00 PM

  My take on it, if the guy hiring you thinks about the vesting cliff as a big 'Undo' button, you don't want to work there.

• by MandyLady on 7/29/12, 9:46 PM

  The hard part is, how do you know your founder is good to her word? A year of work, and you get nothing. That is a huge risk.